The fateful tap on a shoulder and chilling whisper of “Gotcha” send shivers and shrieks all across campus. Winter term brings Gotcha, a campus-wide game where every student must say “gotcha” to their assigned target, not allowing anyone else to hear the word. “It makes the winter a lot more fun,” said 2011 Gotcha champion Rose Fisher ’13.

Fisher commented on her story of success, saying, “I didn’t make it my goal to win until the second or third round. I didn’t know how well I was doing!” Fisher won in the spring when she got Hannah Insuik ’13 out.

“She thought that she would be fine, but I saw her walking alone. So, I hid behind a tree and got her,” recalled Fisher.

Although the game is stressful at times, most students enjoy participating. Fisher, a lover of the game, advised others, “Stay relaxed about it. Have fun. Know who to trust. This game is a conversation starter that defies friendship lines.”

Fisher advises “always watching your back and being suspicious of people.” However, the most common defensive technique—finding out who has you—was not on her list. “Most of the time I didn’t know who had me,” admitted Fisher.

Of this year’s Gotcha experience thus far, Fisher commented, “It takes a lot of planning to get people out and it’s a lot harder junior year.”

Whether you are helping a friend get someone out or trying to get your next target, Fisher recommended, “The most important thing is to not take this game too seriously. At the end of the day, it’s just a game.”